SUMMER FRESH C
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt until it tastes like the sea. Add two tablespoons of olive oil to a skillet that’s large enough to hold all the mushrooms and beans, with room to stir. Add garlic and cook slowly over medium heat to toast the garlic so it’s very soft, fragrant, and golden brown – about five minutes. Scoop out the garlic and set aside.
Increase the heat to medium-high and add the mushrooms. Season generously with pepper and salt and sauté, tossing frequently, until the mushrooms are nicely browned, five to seven minutes. Add the tuna and toss. Keep this warm until the green beans are ready.
Boil the beans until they are just a bit beyond crisp-tender, four to seven minutes. Drain in a colander and add them to the mushrooms and tuna.
Add the cream, toss all the ingredients to coat, and simmer until the cream has reduced to a nice cloaking consistency, for six to nine minutes.
Add lemon zest and juice and toss. Taste and adjust with more salt, pepper, or lemon juice. Pile into a serving bowl and top with the breadcrumbs. HEF Joshua McFadden spent years cooking in some of America’s finest kitchens, but it was his two years on a farm that changed his understanding of how to make vegetables taste extraordinary.
His book Six Seasons divides the year to reflect what is happening in the fields and how to use the freshest produce.
Joshua, pictured, who is chef and owner of Ava Gene’s in Portland, says: “Cherish the vegetables when they’re at their best and then wait until their season rolls around again.” Here he offers some sunshine recipes using summer vegetables.
Heat oven to 190C. Cut up any larger beets so that they are all about the same size.
Put the beets in a baking dish in a single layer. Season with salt, then pour 4 fl ozs water into the dish. Cover tightly with foil and steam-roast until the beets are tender. This could take between 30 minutes and one hour.
If you have beet greens, toss with a glug of olive oil over a medium heat until they are wilted and a bit stewed, about five minutes.
When beets are cool enough, rub or pare away the skins. Cut into ½-inch wedges or chunks and pile into a bowl. Add the greens.
While the beets are still warm, sprinkle with vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt, and black pepper. Toss and let the beets absorb the vinegar. Add a healthy glug of olive oil and toss again.
Add the sunflower seeds, parsley, scallions, and pickled peppers and toss gently. Peel the avocados and cut them into neat chunks and add. Season again if necessary and serve.